In recent years, Xi Jinping's large-scale anti-corruption campaign is ostensibly aimed at rectifying the officialdom, but in fact it has triggered a general "lying flat" mentality among officials. Against this background, officials respond to their work with "no initiative, no refusal, no responsibility, and no action". On the surface, they perform their tasks, but in fact they try to minimize risks. This phenomenon not only weakens the strength of policy implementation, but also exacerbates the public's distrust of the government.

The deep-seated reasons behind the lying flat phenomenon

James Chen, a Chinese living in Australia, recently returned to China and had a deep impression of the current situation of Beijing's officialdom. He pointed out that today's officials are no longer active, and corruption has moved from the surface to the backstage. As long as they can ensure that their positions are not in trouble, officials would rather do nothing. Especially in Xi Jinping's anti-corruption storm, officials are more careful to avoid any behavior that may cause trouble.

Although Xi Jinping has vigorously advocated "strict party governance" since he came to power in 2012 and tried to eliminate corruption through a series of anti-corruption actions. But the actual effect is not ideal, and many inspection teams and discipline inspection and supervision agencies are in name only. Mr. Chen pointed out that these institutions are often just tools to crack down on dissidents. For officials who are not "targets of crackdown", the Commission for Discipline Inspection often just goes through the motions and cannot really touch the core of the problem.

In this environment, officials generally adopt a "cold, evasive, false, fake, and evasive" work attitude, striving to protect themselves and not daring to take any proactive actions. Even in the face of complaints and reports from the public, they only respond perfunctorily, and even do not take any substantive actions even though they know the existence of the problem. For example, there are a large number of illegal buildings in Beijing. Although government departments are aware of it, they have not dealt with it for a long time, and there is even collusion between officials and businessmen. This kind of "lying flat" officialdom has made many problems that should have been solved unresolved for a long time, seriously affecting the normal operation of society.

The phenomenon of random fines is rampant, and the public complains

In addition to inaction, officials also seek personal gain through random fines and random arrests. In this process, the collusion between the three public security, procuratorial and judicial institutions has deepened the complexity of the problem. Mr. Chen mentioned that some small businesses were reported for problems with electric vehicle charging, but the actual problems were not really solved, and instead became an opportunity for officials to collect fines and make money.

What is even more frustrating is that the public has almost no channels to appeal when facing these problems. Although China has established a petition system that can theoretically accept complaints from the public, in actual operation, these institutions are often in name only. Many people reported that complaint hotlines such as 12345 can only handle some minor problems, and major complaints are not resolved at all. Even if the complaints are accepted, the officials' response is mostly "knowing" and lacks substantive action. This situation where there is nowhere to appeal has deepened the public's distrust of the government.

News censorship and public opinion control exacerbate social contradictions

Mr. Chen also mentioned the issue of media censorship in China. In Australia, journalists have relative freedom, and news reports can be free from direct control of the government; but in China, the issuance and review of journalist certificates are strictly controlled by the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and all news must go through multiple levels of review before they can be released. This strict public opinion control makes many social issues unable to be discussed publicly, further restricting the public's right to express themselves.

Even if they speak out online, people face the risk of having their accounts blocked. Any speech involving sensitive topics may touch the government's red line and be blocked or deleted. The suppression of public opinion not only suppresses the voice of the people, but also prevents many social problems from receiving timely attention and resolution.

The interweaving of official corruption and human rights issues

In addition to inaction and arbitrary fines, Mr. Chen also shared his personal experience of police checking mobile phones in Beijing. Although the law stipulates that citizens' personal mobile phones can only be checked when involved in criminal cases, in actual operations, the police often check mobile phones at will, even without showing any legal reasons. This violation of personal privacy highlights China's shortcomings in human rights protection.

Especially in some sensitive areas, such as Xinjiang and Tibet, the government's suppression of local residents is more serious. Mr. Chen mentioned that Beijing police are often sent to Xinjiang to work and participate in local stability maintenance work. These actions have not only exacerbated local tensions, but also made many people lose trust in the government.

The deep-seated problem of collusion between officials and businessmen and corruption

As the capital of China, Beijing should have been a model of standardized governance and sound rule of law, but in fact, collusion between officials and businessmen is very common. Mr. Chen mentioned that many village officials in Beijing made huge profits by illegally developing land and renting commercial properties, but they did not issue property certificates to homeowners. This behavior not only violated the legitimate rights and interests of ordinary residents, but also reflected the injustice of local governments in the distribution of benefits.

What is more worrying is that even if villagers protested or complained about this situation, the problem was still not solved. Officials shirked responsibility for various reasons, and the problem was eventually left unsolved. This kind of corruption between officials and businessmen exists not only in Beijing, but also widely distributed in other parts of China, which has deepened the sense of injustice in the whole society.

People's distrust of the current regime is rising

Mr. Chen said that more and more Chinese people are now dissatisfied with Xi Jinping and his government. He pointed out that 90% of the people do not trust the government and national leaders, and are even full of disgust. Although some people dare not express their dissatisfaction publicly, private complaints have become a common phenomenon.

This deepening distrust is not only due to government corruption and inaction, but also related to China's increasingly tightened exit policies. Mr. Chen mentioned that the Beijing Municipal Government has confiscated the passports and Hong Kong and Macau Passes of civil servants and strictly prohibited them from going abroad. This restrictive policy reflects the government's fear of contact with the outside world, and is worried that once the people know the real situation abroad, they will be more dissatisfied with the current situation in China.

The trend of going abroad and the future of Chinese society

In this severe situation, more and more Chinese people are eager to go abroad, especially the younger generation is full of yearning for life abroad. Mr. Chen mentioned that even taxi drivers hope to have the opportunity to immigrate abroad. They believe that living conditions abroad are freer and fairer than in China.

As China's economic downturn and social problems intensify, people's willingness to immigrate will only rise further. However, going abroad is not a dream that everyone can realize, especially under the strict control of the government, many people cannot even successfully apply for passports. Mr. Chen's experience reflects that in the face of various dissatisfactions in China, going abroad has become the only hope and pursuit of many people.

Conclusion

In general, Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign has not only failed to completely eliminate official corruption, but has also fostered the "lying flat" mentality of officials. Under this system, officials are unwilling to take responsibility, but instead seek personal gain through arbitrary fines and collusion with businessmen. At the same time, people's distrust of the government is also deepening, and social contradictions are becoming increasingly acute due to limited public opinion and lack of channels for complaints. In the end, more and more people choose to place their hopes on emigrating abroad to escape the difficulties at home.